A Strange Young Man
by orange-sunshiine
Summary: Sam gets struck by lightening and is de-aged mentally. Gilbert Grape is in there too. It's probably OOC - I just thought de-aged Sam would be cute. You're warned. Rated to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wanted to de-age Sam mentally because he's adorable. It's probably OOC for Gilbert Sam, Joon, and everyone else involved. I realize this. It's set in 2012.

It was around four o'clock, and Sam was making himself a snack. Joon had been gone for the day, shopping for birthday presents for him. He shuddered at how cold the kitchen was - it'd been raining since early in the afternoon, and now, the rain was pouring, drops violently hitting the windows of the poorly insulated kitchen.

Then a clap of thunder shook the room, and Sam lost his train of thought.

"What was I doing again?" he asked himself.

And that was Sam's last normal thought.

Suddenly, the room lit up as a bolt of lightening shot into the room, having been attracted to a metal pipe on the wall. The electricity seemed to jump up the metal knife he was holding, and into Sam's hand.

The shock immediately went though Sam's body, leaving only a blackened entry wound.

Sam didn't feel it, though. The shock had instantly rendered him unconscious.

–

Joon had called home five times so far, and each time, the answering machine had picked up.

This concerned her. Usually Sam would always pick up the phone, or at the very least, would call her back within the hour. It'd now been three hours and she wondered where he was. Feeling nervous, she decided that she ought to cut her shopping trip short and return home.

The drive back felt like it took hours, even though it was only twenty minutes. It should have been at least a half hour, but Joon had ended up running every stoplight she'd come across.

The lights were on at the house, which made her feel slightly better. If Sam had gone out, he would've turned the lights off. He always did. Maybe he was inside taking a really long nap, or something to that extent.

Joon did not even take the extra second to get her umbrella out. Rather, she left everything in the car and raced to the door. It was open. Sam usually left the door open when he was home. She pushed it open, and called out for him.

"Sam? You here?"

There was no answer, and Joon began to feel even more nervous. She continued to walk into the house.

"Sam? Where are you?"

This time, there was a sound from the kitchen. It sounded like a muffled cry.

Joon quickly followed it, and was shocked at what she found. Sam was lying on the floor, curled up. He was whimpering and crying.

"Sam!" she rushed to his side, and kneeled down next to him. "What happened? Are you okay?"

To her surprise, Sam moved away from her, curling up into an even smaller ball.

"Sam, what's wrong?"

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, still crying. He seemed to be getting more hysterical.

Joon's jaw dropped. "Sam, it's me! Why are you acting like this? What happened?"

"I don't know you," Sam said, a little softer. "I need my mom."

"What?"

"She says I can't talk to strangers, so I can't talk to you."

"Sam...Don't you recognize me at all?"

Once again Sam began crying harder, seemingly terrified once again.

"Good Lord," Joon whispered. "I'll be right back."

–-

Joon walked into the next room to where the land line was, and began dialing the number of the only person she could think that might be able to help. Sam did not look physically injured, but she'd never seen him act this way, either.

The phone rang twice before Gilbert picked up.

"Hello?"

"Gilbert! I need you to come over here fast!"

"Joon? Why, what's going on?"

"Something happened to Sam. He's acting all funny, saying he wants his mom and crying. Can you come over?" she asked again.

"Um. Yeah, I'm at work... let me go tell Sean to cover for me. I'll be there in a few minutes," Gilbert replied, calmly. He didn't see any point in getting worked up, especially if Sam was going through some type of crisis. Both Sam and Joon would need him to be calm.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah. See you soon."

With that, Gilbert hung up the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Joon waited in the living room for Gilbert to arrive. She could still hear Sam crying in the kitchen, but was afraid to try to get near him again, not knowing what his reaction might be. Thankfully, Gilbert arrived very quickly.

"What happened?" he asked, walking into the room. Joon looked extremely nervous.

"I have no idea. He's in the kitchen."

Gilbert nodded, and began making his way over to where Sam was. Joon quietly followed behind.

From the kitchen door, Gilbert could see Sam, still on the floor, sniffling. Sam looked up when he heard them. Joon braced herself for what she expected to happen - that he was going to start yelling and tell them to leave.

So, she was quite surprised when he did not react this way. Instead, he looked at Gilbert, and stopped crying all together.

"Dad!" he called out, sitting up.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. For a second he considered correcting Sam, but decided that for now, it might be best to play into whatever delusion was going through his mind.

"Hi, Sam," Gilbert said, coming closer.

Sam seemed very relieved to see him.

"Dad... I got hurt," he said, sniffling again.

"Show me where?" Gilbert asked, taking a seat next to Sam, so that he could be at eye level.

Sam winced, but held out his left hand. There was a large, but perfectly circular burn pattern on his palm. "I got hurt here, too." Sam moved and pulled his shirt up a little, showing Gilbert his right hip. There was a smaller circular burn mark there, too.

Gilbert suddenly had an idea of what had happened, but he wanted Sam to confirm it.

"Sam, what happened? How did you get these marks?"

Sam swallowed nervously. "I..I dunno. I just remember light... then I fell." He began to get closer to Gilbert. "It hurts..."

"We have to take care of your wounds. Can you stand up?"

"Yes."

With Gilbert's help, Sam got up. Joon was still standing in the doorway. Once again Sam glanced at her, and he began to cling on to Gilbert a little harder.

"Dad... that lady keeps coming here," he said, softly.

Gilbert wrapped his arm around Sam's waist, helping to support him. It was difficult not to touch the burn on his side, but he managed to do it.

"It's okay, Sam. I know her. You can trust her. Her name is Joon."

"Joon..." Sam repeated, "Miss Joon."

Joon forced a smile at him. "Hi, Sam."

Sam nodded shyly. "Hi." he then turned back to Gilbert. "Where are we going?"

"Well, we need to take you to the doctor, to make sure that you're okay. Do you understand?"

Sam's lower lip began to quiver.

"Noooooo. No doctors!" he begged, eyes filling up with tears again. "Please, daddy, I'm sorry, I'm not hurt!"

Having dealt with numerous tantrums with Arnie, Gilbert calmly started explaining why it was necessary to go.

"But Sam, it won't hurt. We have to make sure that you're okay is all. I'll be right there with you."

Sam considered this for a moment. "Promise?" he asked.

"I promise."

Sam stuck out his pinky. "Swear it?"

Gilbert wanted to laugh. "I pinky swear it."

"Oh.. okay, then."

Gilbert smiled, and reached out his hand to let Sam take it. "Let's go then."

Sam grabbed Gilbert's hand and the two began walking towards the door. They stopped when they got there.

"Do you mind if Joon comes, too?" Gilbert asked, looking Sam in the eyes.

Sam bit his lip, but nodded his head 'yes'.

Joon took a deep breath, and followed the two along, out to Gilbert's truck.

Gilbert opened the passenger side door to let Sam in.

"You sit in the middle, okay? And Joon will sit near the window." He watched as Sam crawled into the cab, sitting directly in the middle. Joon squeezed in next to him, and closed the door, while Gilbert went around to the driver's side.

"Tell me which way to go," Gilbert said, buckling his seat belt. Joon did the same, but noticed that Sam wasn't buckling his.

"Sam, you need to buckle that up," she said, softly.

Sam shook his head 'no'. "Hurts."

"It hurts?"

"It hurts his side, I think. Right?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes."

Sam still seemed very nervous, especially since Joon was so close to him.

"Just... sit back. Don't squirm around," Gilbert instructed.

"Okay." Sam sat back against the seat, straight as a board, just like Gilbert had told him to.

00

After they pulled out of the driveway, Joon began directing Gilbert how to get to the doctor that she and Sam usually went to. It wasn't too far away, but the parking lot was full.

Sighing, Gilbert and Joon got out of the car. Gilbert waited patiently for Sam to come out, as well, and as soon as he did, he reached out to hold on to Gilbert. Seeing how scared the brunette looked, Gilbert wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he led him inside.

The waiting room was full of patients, and both Gilbert and Joon knew they'd likely have a long wait ahead of them. Seeing as how this was quite urgent, though, Joon went up to talk to the receptionist.

"Sign in and take a number," the woman said, not even bothering to look at Joon.

"Excuse me, miss, but my husband REALLY needs to see a doctor," Joon started.

"Yeah, him and everyone else here. Sign in and take a number."

"You don't understand, he was struck by lightening."

"Like I said – take a – wait, what? Struck by lightening?"

"Yes! And now he's acting like a little child!" Joon glanced over, and could see Sam holding on to Gilbert tightly, seemingly terrified of the people around him.

"You're serious?" the receptionist asked.

"Swear on my grandmother's grave! Look, you can see him right there, cowering in the corner with our friend."

The receptionist looked over Joon's shoulder, and noticed Sam and Gilbert. She seemed to calm down a bit.

"Okay, alright. I'll go tell Dr. Harris to take him right in."


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Soon enough, the door to the doctor's office opened, and a short hispanic nurse stepped out. She had on white scrubs with little teddy bears, and a name tag that read 'Maritza.

"Samuel Dawson?" she asked.

Sam perked up when he heard his name.

"Come on, we have to go in," Gilbert told him.

Sam walked alongside him, but very slowly. He obviously did not want to go in.

Maritza was kind, though. She was experienced with working with all different types of patients and could tell that Sam was nervous. As he, Gilbert, and Joon walked into the office, she smiled at him, causing him to smile back.

"So you're Sam?" she asked, shutting the door. She pulled out the chart she was carrying under her arm.

"Yes..." Sam replied, meekly.

"Okay. You can sit on the exam table, Sam. I have a few things I need to do."

Sam looked at Gilbert, as if questioning if it was okay for him to follow the nurses' directions.

"Go sit," Gilbert told him, motioning at the table.

Sam slowly walked over and pushed himself up.

First, Maritza took Sam's blood pressure. He flinched as she wrapped the cuff around him and tightened it, but didn't actually complain.

"A little high, but not totally abnormal," she explained, writing the numbers down.

Next, she took his pulse rate. That was normal.

Lastly, she took his temperature.

"That's also normal," she noted, filling it in on the chart. "You did good, Sam. Dr. Harris will be in in a moment."

Sam nodded, and watched as the nurse exited the room.

Gilbert took this time to sit down next to Sam on the table. He could tell Sam was getting scared, and it was almost instinctive for him to try to make him feel better.

"Hey, it's okay," Gilbert said, forcing a smile at Sam. "The doctor's just going to make sure that you're okay."

"Okay..." Sam said, but he still seemed scared.

00

Just as the nurse had promised, Dr. Harris, the resident doctor, soon entered the room. He was an older man, with long, white hair pulled back in a pony tail, and what looked like a tie-dyed shirt under his labcoat. A pair of half-moon spectacles sat on his nose. He had Sam's chart in his hand.

"And you must be Samuel," Dr. Harris said, looking at the young man who was currently holding Gilbert's hand.

Sam didn't answer, so Gilbert spoke up for him.

"This is him. He's a bit nervous."

The doctor chuckled, "Aw, there's no reason to be scared. I won't hurt ya!"

Hearing this, Sam seemed to relax, ever so slightly.

"So, I heard you were struck by lightening." The doctor pulled up a stool so that he was sitting across from Sam. "Can you show me where it hit you?"

Sam frowned, but held out his left hand.

The doctor took hold of his wrist, and examined the burn mark for a moment.

"I see. And where did it exit?"

Sam slowly lifted up his shirt, showing the mark on his side. The doctor looked a bit startled, but managed to contain himself. "I see. You may put your shirt down now."

Sam did this, and the doctor began scribbling some notes on his paperwork. After a few minutes, he looked up again.

"Okay, Sam. The next parts will be easy. I just need you to answer a few questions for me. Can you do that?"

Sam nodded slowly.

"What is your full name?"

"Samuel Dawson."

The doctor nodded. "Good. And do you know where you are?"

Sam looked at him like he was crazy. "At the doctors office."

Dr. Harris smirked. "That's fair. And how old are you?"

Sam considered this for a moment. "Five and a half," he finally said, holding up five fingers.

Gilbert, Joon, and the doctor all tried to hide their shock at this statement. It was clear that Sam had regressed to an extent, but actually hearing him admit that he thought he was five years old was strange.

"Good," the doctor answered. "Now, I need you to stand up, and walk in a straight line across the room."

00

The exam went on for another half hour. After that, the doctor had suggested that Sam be sent downstairs for an emergency MRI. All in all it took the group three hours to get out of the clinic, and the end diagnoses wasn't helpful. Memory loss due to sudden physical shock. They weren't sure if, or when, Sam's memory would come back. All that the doctors could say was that besides the regression, Sam was physically fine.

He was, however, very tired. It was getting close to sundown now, and besides wanting to sleep, Sam was also very hungry.

Gilbert knew that he should've expected the tantrum that was to follow. Kids often got frustrated if they were tired and hungry, and if Sam thought that he was a little kid, he was no exception. By the time they had gotten out to the car, he was stomping his feet and glaring at everything and everyone.

Joon opened the door to the truck to let him in, and Sam huffed as he sat down.

The first few moments of the drive were silent. Then Sam let out a huge sigh.

"You okay, buddy?" Gilbert asked, as nicely as possible.

"I'm hungry," Sam answered, pouting.

Gilbert looked at Joon, and Joon nodded, as if she could read what he was thinking.

"We'll stop off for some food, okay?" he asked.

Sam nodded, but crossed his arms.

A couple miles later, Gilbert pulled into the lot of a 24-hour diner. The three walked in and took a seat at a booth. As they waited for some menus, both Joon and Gilbert could see how Sam was starting to get more and more antsy. He was tapping his foot, and playing with the paper place mats, and picking up packets of sugar and opening them and dumping them on the table. As he opened the third packet, Gilbert grabbed his hand.

"Stop it, Sam," he said, softly. "People use that sugar."

Sam huffed again, then stomped his foot. "I'm hungry!" he yelled.

"You'll have some food soon," Gilbert reminded him, "Just a few minutes."

"But I'm hungry now!" Sam yelled again. Then tears started forming in his eyes.

Gilbert and Joon sighed simultaneously. By some miracle, a waitress noticed them and brought over three menus. Now having one in his hand, Sam stopped crying.

"You can have whatever you want," Gilbert said, not wanting to upset him. Sam was obviously very emotional and he didn't feel like dealing with any more crying right then.

Sam nodded, and put the menu down. The waitress came back soon after.

"I'll have a coffee," Gilbert said, handing her the menu. Joon ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. The waitress then looked at Sam.

"I want a chocolate ice cream sundae with strawberry toppings and whipped cream and chocolate sauce and cherries and chocolate jimmies and rainbow jimmies," Sam said.

Joon seemed a bit surprised at this, but let it go. The waitress just smiled.

"Okay, son. I'll bring that right out."

Satisfied that he was getting his way, Sam seemed to calm down tremendously.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

The small group ate in silence once their food came out, and left to go home shortly after. Considering that he'd finished off an ice cream sundae, both Joon and Gilbert were surprised at how tired Sam was. They'd both expected him to be bouncing off the walls to an extent.

By the time they got back to Joon's house, Sam was already half asleep. Gilbert had held his hand on the walk inside.

"He can stay in the bedroom for tonight, and I'll stay on the couch," Joon said, noticing that Sam was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"I'll stay on the other couch, then" Gilbert replied.

"Thanks, I appreciate you spending the night," Joon said. She looked a Sam again, and he had a dazed look in his eyes. "Ready for sleep?" she asked.

Sam nodded.

Knowing that Sam still wasn't completely comfortable with Joon, Gilbert offered to help him get ready for bed. He led Sam into the bedroom, while Joon got blankets out of the closet to get the couches ready.

"Do you have any pajamas?" Gilbert asked, once he and Sam were in the room.

Sam began to think about this, but started to look confused.

"I… don't know…" he answered, "I can't remember." Suddenly he seemed to look very sad.

"Hey, it's okay," Gilbert said, "I'm sure there's something you can sleep in. We can get pajamas tomorrow if we need to." The red head moved towards the one of the dressers in the side of the room. It had several t shirts that Sam owned on top of it, so Gilbert assumed that it was his.

"Let's see," he said, opening some drawers.

In the next few seconds he pulled out a pair of black sweat pants and a white t shirt with a big, green peace sign on it.

"Here we go." He handed the items to Sam. "Can you get dressed?"

"Yes." Sam took the garments, but didn't move after that. Gilbert realized that he was probably embarrassed to get changed while another person was in the room.

"I'm going to wait outside. You just let me know when you're done, alright?"

"Thank you," Sam replied.

He called Gilbert back into room a minute later, still referring to him as 'dad'.

Gilbert opened the door to see Sam already in bed, covers pulled up to his chest.

Gilbert smiled at him. "All ready to sleep, then? Are you comfortable?"

"Mhmm." Sam yawned again.

"Good. Joon and I will be sleeping in the living room if you need us."

"Okay."

Gilbert debating giving Sam a kiss on the forehead, but decided against it because he felt it might be awkward. Instead, he wished Sam a good night.

"See ya in the morning," he said, walking towards the door. He shut off the light and left the room.

00

Gilbert and Joon had decided to watch some television before going to sleep. It'd been a long, trying day, and both felt stressed out. They figured that zoning out for an hour or two might help. Neither had been able to stay awake too long, though. Joon was lying curled up, her feet facing towards Gilbert, with her head on the arm of the couch, while Gilbert leaned back against the cushions, snoring. The Late Show played on in the background.

Their peaceful slumber was soon interrupted by a loud scream.

"DADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDD!"

"Huh? What?!" Gilbert asked, nearly jumping out of his skin. Joon had woken up, too.

"What was that?" Gilbert asked, confused.

"Sam, I think."

The question was answered definitively when Sam yelled again, once again calling out for his father.

Sighing, Gilbert stood up, and along with Joon, walked towards the bedroom. He cracked open the door.

"Sam?" he asked, looking inside.

Sam was sitting up in bed, holding the covers up to his nose. Even in the dark, Gilbert could tell that something had spooked him.

Gilbert switched on the light. "What's going on?"

Now that the light was on, Gilbert could see tears running down Sam's face. He immediately felt bad for him.

"Sam, why are you crying?" he asked, taking a step closer to the bed. Joon followed suit.

Sam took several deep breaths, seemingly trying to calm himself.

"I saw something," he finally whispered, eyes darting around the room.

Gilbert sat down on the side of the bed, while Joon stood nearby. Sam relinquished the covers, feeling safer now that the adults were nearby.

"What'd you see?" Joon asked, softly.

"Something over there… it was staring at me. It had red eyes and a pointed tongue and it was angry…" he pointed at the closet. The door was slightly open. "Please don't let it get me," he added in, speaking in a whisper.

"There's nothing in the closet," Joon replied, sounding annoyed. She was very tired and wasn't in the mood for this. "It's in your head."

Sam's eyes got bigger, and he looked like he was about to cry again.

Gilbert sighed again. "It's okay, Joon. How about I go check to make sure nothing's there. Would that make you feel better?"

Sam nodded slowly.

"Okay then." Gilbert got up, and made his way towards the closet. He opened the door, and carefully inspected the inside. He knew nothing was there, but he felt that if he made it look like he was really checking, it might help Sam calm down.

"Hmm," he said, pushing some of the clothes around, "Doesn't look like there's anything here. I think you're safe."

Sam didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?" he asked, in a small voice.

"Yup. I'm good at this stuff. I promise that nothing's in the closet."

"Maybe you guys just scared it off," Sam replied, looking away, "Maybe it'll come back when you leave."

"Nah, I think it knows better than that," Gilbert said, reassuringly, "It'd know we're right outside and could get it if it came back. Besides, I think maybe you just had a bad dream."

Sam frowned. "It wasn't a dream. It was real. I saw it."

"Monsters don't exist," Joon said, "It was a dream. Go back to sleep, okay?"

Gilbert looked at Joon, trying not to get aggravated with her. He knew that she was just drained, and that it was affecting her attitude, but he thought that she should try to be nicer to Sam. He really was upset.

"Sam, would it make you feel better to stay out in the living room with us?"

Sam instantly shook his head 'yes'.

"Alright. Gather up your blankets and come outside."

Sam piled everything up as quickly as he could. When they got back into the living room, Gilbert moved his own blankets off of the sofa and put them on the floor. He then began setting up a place for Sam. Joon could have the other couch.

"There we go," Gilbert said, as he laid Sam's blanket and pillow out. "You're good to go."

"Thank you!" Sam answered, hopping into the makeshift bed.

Joon lay down on the other couch. "Well I don't know about you all, but I'm beat."

"Me too," Gilbert replied. "Let's try to sleep."

He shut off the living room light, and made himself comfortable on the floor before flicking the television off as well.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I honestly just like making Sam cry.

Part 5

The next day, Gilbert had off from work, which was very lucky because he and Joon had a lot to accomplish. For one thing, they needed to get a bed for Sam to sleep on. It would be too awkward for he and Joon to sleep in the same bed, even if they were technically married. Sam also seemed to be afraid of the bedroom, as he actively avoided it since he'd woken up.

Gilbert and Joon had intended to set out to the local department store around nine, however, it was a challenge even getting out of the house.

While Sam had been a fairly easy going adult, as a child, he was harder to handle. For one thing, he was extremely picky about what food he would eat. Joon and Gilbert had made him everything from toast to eggs and bacon, but in the end, Sam would only eat Cheerios covered in a ton of sugar. He really seemed to like sweet things, they noticed.

Besides that, getting him dressed was another challenge. Sam tended to prefer to stay in the clothes he'd slept in for as long as possible. It was only when Joon threatened not to take him to the store with them that he grudgingly changed into a pair of jeans and a bright orange tee shirt.

Despite this, Sam was in a decent mood when they left. The department store was not crowded yet, so the two hoped it would be an easy shopping trip.

"Stay with us," Gilbert instructed, once they were inside.

"I will."

The three started walking towards the bedding section, passing some toys along the way.

As Gilbert and Joon walked, Sam hung back and began looking at them, mesmerized by all that was there. Since Gilbert was talking to Joon, neither of them noticed.

Sam played with a Simon game for a little bit, enjoying the colors and patterns. It was a full five minutes before it hit him that Gilbert and Joon were no longer nearby.

"Daddy?" he called out, looking around.

There was no answer.

"Miss Joon?"

Again, no answer.

Sam was starting to get nervous. He didn't like being alone. He wondered if maybe his dad and Miss Joon had left him there, or if something had happened to them. What if they never came back? Would he have to stay there forever? The thought of it scared him terribly.

"Dad?" he called out, more frantically. He began looking around the aisle, checking to see if he could find his guardians anywhere.

"Dad? Miss Joon?"

Tears were now pouring from Sam's eyes. He couldn't control it. Realizing that neither Gibert or Joon were nowhere in sight, he sat down on the floor, leaned up against a shelf and pulled his knees up to his chest, holding them there as he cried hysterically.

To make matters worse, people were starting to stare at him. He didnt understand why. Did he do something wrong? Why was everyone looking at him?

It made him cry harder. Soon enough his cries turned into sobs and hiccups. Then he felt someone touch his shoulder.

Sam looked up, expecting to see his dad or Joon, but instead, it was an older woman staring back at him.

"Son," she said, kindly, "Are you okay?"

"I cant... find... my daddy..." Sam replied, sniffling loudly. He began sobbing again.

"Oh, honey, it's okay. I'll help you find your dad." The woman could tell that something was wrong with Sam. Even if he did look way too old to be bawling on the floor, she didn't feel right just leaving him there.

"You will?!" he asked, feeling a little ray of hope.

"Yes. Let's go look for him," she said, offering her hand to help him up.

Sam took hold of it and pulled himself up, unaware of his true size. He nearly pulled the smaller woman down towards the ground, but she managed to right herself.

"What's he look like?"

"He's got long hair... and he was wearing a blue shirt... and he was with Miss Joon... and she has blonde hair."

"Alright." she reached into her purse, and pulled out a tissue, handing it to Sam before they started walking. "Wipe your eyes, dear."

Sam wiped the tears off of his face and blew his nose, shoving the tissue into his pocket when he was done.

Together, Sam and the old lady began walking the store, checking each aisle for Gilbert and Joon.

When they didn't find them after several moments, Sam began to panic again. The older woman could see this coming, and began attempting to calm him down.

"Son, we'll go to the manager and have them call for your daddy. Don't cry. You're not alone."

"O-okay," Sam said, sniffling again.

The woman led Sam towards the customer service counter. The man who was working it was about Sam's true age, and was giving Sam odd looks.

"Can I help you?" he asked, question directed at the old woman more so than Sam.

"This young man can't find his dad. May you call him on the intercom?"

"Er.. You're missing your dad?" the man seemed surprised.

"Yes, he's missing his father," the woman repeated, somewhat annoyed. "It would be very helpful if you could please call for him."

The man sighed, but agreed. "What's you're name?" he asked Sam.

"Samuel Dawson."

"Okay." the man picked up the speaker, and began talking into it.

"Will the father of Samuel Dawson please come to customer service?"

Sam could hear the man's voice echo throughout the store.

Within moments, Gilbert and Joon appeared.

"Oh, thank God!" Joon said, pulling Sam into a hug, "We were looking everywhere for you!"

Grateful to have Gilbert and Joon back, Sam hugged her back, unwilling to let go for a long time.

Finally, he pulled back.

"How'd you know to go to customer service?" Gilbert asked.

"This lady helped me," Sam explained, pointing at the old woman.

"I saw him crying in the toy aisle, and I couldn't just leave him there..." she added.

"Thank you SO much," Gilbert said, "Here, let me give you something for your trouble." He began pulling his wallet out, but she pushed his hands down.

"Nonsense. I have a son a little older than him, I'd want someone to help him if he needed it."

Sam looked confused. "You have a five year old son?"

The woman looked more like his grandma than a mom.

"Ah... Yes."

"Oh."

Gilbert and Joon understood what she meant, though.

"Thank you again," Joon said, "We appreciate it."

"Sure. Just keep an eye on him."

"We will!" Joon and Gilbert answered at once.

The woman smiled, and started to walk away.


End file.
